A cloth hall or linen hall (; ; ; ) is a form of market hall building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from medieval times into the 18th century.
A cloth hall contained trading stalls for the sale of cloth and other goods, such as leather, wax, salt, and exotic imports such as silks and spices. Cloth halls were usually along major trade routes, sometimes providing lodging for merchants and serving as customs posts.
By country Belgium
Examples of cloth halls in Belgium include the Ypres Cloth Hall and cloth halls in Bruges, Leuven, and Tournai. Leuven's Linen-Hall is in an early-Gothic style, with baroque addition, and now serves as the Leuven University Hall.
Antoing: the former town hall had been built as a cloth hall in 1565 Bruges: Kontor of Bruges Brussels, see Drapery Court of Brussels Dendermonde: Diest: Tournai: Geel: former city hall Ghent: Belfry of Ghent Halen: on the site of the current town hall Hasselt: Cloth Hall, since the 18th century Heestert: Lakenhalle OLV Hemelvaart Herentals: Ypres: Ypres Cloth Hall Kortrijk: Great Cloth Hall, destroyed in 1944, now Schouwburgplein. Langemark: 1296–1344, destroyed by Ypres weavers Leuven: University Hall (Leuven) Lier, Belgium: the current . Maaseik Mechelen: Nieuwkerke, demolished in 1844 Oudenaarde: Oudenaarde Town Hall Sint-Truiden: Tielt: Turnhout: old Town Hall of Turnhout on Herentalsstraat, demolished in 1962 Zinnik Verviers Zoutleeuw:
Britain and Ireland British examples are Drapers' Hall, London; the Piece Hall, Halifax; and Leeds' White Cloth Hall.
In Ireland, the Dublin Linen Hall was completed in 1728, and later White Linen Hall was constructed in Belfast. The Linen Hall Library is located in this area. There were linen halls in other towns such as Castlebar (which includes Linenhall Arts Centre) and Clonakilty.
Germany Examples of German Gewandhäuser can be found in the towns of Brunswick, Zwickau, and Leipzig.
The rebuilt, third Leipzig Gewandhaus is home to the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Netherlands
The former Cloth Hall in Leiden, Netherlands, has, since the 19th century, housed the Museum De Lakenhal (Municipal Cloth-Hall Museum) of art. Amsterdam: cloth hall Groenburgwal, nowadays an Anglican church named Echt, Netherlands Deventer: Wanthuis, part of the since the 15th/16th century. (1964). Zuid-Salland. Den Haag: Staatsuitgeverij, geraadpleegd van DBNL Dordrecht: later called Huis Scharlaeken. (1996). Geschiedenis van Dordrecht tot 1572, pp. 29-30. Gemeentearchief Dordrecht Demolished in 1858. The Watersteinstoren used to be part of it for a time. Leiden: Laecken-Halle, see Museum De Lakenhal Maastricht: Cloth hall at the Market square; linen weavers mainly resided in the Boschstraatkwartier Middelburg, Zeeland Nijmegen: Gewandhuis/Lakenhal, Great Market square 22–25; the current is a remnant of it. Sittard: at the Market square, destroyed Weert. Weerter cloth was also traded in the Halle van Weert in Hoogstraat in Bergen op Zoom and stored in De Stadt van Weert in Reijnderstraat in Antwerp.
Poland In Poland, the most famous existing cloth-hall building is Kraków's Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), rebuilt in 1555 in Renaissance style.The World's Best Squares, PPS website, Making Places, December 2005 The 14th-century Gothic cloth hall in Toruń is preserved as part of the Old Town Market Hall.
Cloth halls formerly also existed in Poznań, at the Old Market Square; and in Wrocław, at the site of the street now called ulica Sukiennice (Cloth-Hall Street).
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